Section 5 / Lesson 3 - Articles (a, an or the)
Articles are a type of word that we often use to start a noun phrase. In English we typically have four choices:
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1. the
2. a
3. an
4. no article
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There are many rules for how to use articles, but here we will look at the most important in relation to the IELTS writing task one. First, it is important to distinguish between countable and uncountable nouns.
Countable nouns are objects or ideas that we can split into definite numbers e.g. four pencils. A pencil is a countable noun. We add 's' to the end of countable nouns if there are more than one (one pencil, two pencils).
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Uncountable nouns are objects or ideas that we cannot split into definite numbers e.g. water. Water is an uncountable noun as you cannot have 'two waters'. In order to count it, we need to add some kind of unit such as 'two bottles of water'. We add the 's' to the bottle, not the water.
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The first time we mention a new countable noun we use the article 'a' or 'an'.
We usually use 'a' unless the noun that follows it starts with a vowel sound. Typically this will be a noun starting with the letters A, E, I, O, or U but not always. For instance, we say an hour, because it starts with a vowel sound /aÊŠ/.
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The second time we mention the same countable noun, we use the article 'the'.
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E.g. There is a new running track. A new sports field is behind the running track.
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The first time we mention a new uncountable noun we use no article.
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The second time we mention the same uncountable noun, we use use 'the'.
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E.g. There is now more forest. The park is in front of the forest.
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However, we only use these rules for describing the 2nd map. In the older, original map, we use 'the' with any noun that was originally in place. In our question for example:
The playground was replaced by a running track. The running track is next to a new sports field.
It may be the first time we have mentioned the playground in our essay, but as it was originally in place, we still use 'the'. On the other hand, the running track is only in the later map. Therefore, as it is a countable noun, we first need to use the article 'a' and then switch to 'the' thereafter.